Continuing our chats with various people responsible for Trove. Bunnysaurus is up next as she celebrates her 1 year anniversary as part of the Trove Team. Sageosaurus cornered her and promised not to eat her if she answered some questions.

Bunnys art results will follow after the next livestream.

Who are you and what are you responsible for on Trove?

Hi my name is Joanna but I go by Jo, or you may know me as Bunnysaurus. I am the UI Artist on Trove. I also do a lot of UX design and some illustration.

How did you get started in the games industry and Trion?

I first got my start at a small studio in Austin, TX. They needed an art generalist that could do a little bit of everything so I started out doing concept art, UI/UX, illustration, design, and advertising.  This was a great studio but I decided I wanted to work for a studio that made MMO’s. I was playing Trove and Archeage at the time so I applied at Trion.

I was hired into the Creative Services Team and started working on the websites for games like Atlas Reactor. One day there was an opening on the Trove Team so I applied. It was always my dream to work on a game that I actually played so I was thrilled!

What is a typical workday like for you?

Usually my day starts off by checking emails and messages and getting as much coffee into my system as possible. If I need some more time for my coffee to kick in I usually play a little Trove and try to get some fishing and an hourly challenge completed. Next I start working on whatever UI feature is needed for the next milestone. Most days I will be working in Photoshop to create mock-ups or assets for the UI. Once the look is finalized I work closely with the UI engineer, Nathaniel, to build out the UI and get it working in the game.

What makes working on Trove different?

The team is really fun and a bit silly. It means that some days I come to work and we get to make jokes about Boot Dragons all day while we work. We also like to play the game together so we often run shadow towers as a team on our lunch breaks which is really fun!

What are the challenging/rewarding aspects of your position?

I think Trove has been challenging as a UI designer specifically because of the way it was made. The game started out as a very small project and has grown tremendously over the years but this means a lot of the UI was designed on a very small scale with a very small team. We are constantly working to improve and grow the UI along with the game itself. The biggest challenge comes with trying to balance the fun quirkiness that people love with a new and sleeker UI.

Where did the name Bunnysaurus come from?

Hahaha I don’t really know! I love bunnies a lot and I also love dinosaurs (I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a kid) so it just sort of made sense!

Outside of work what do you get up to?

Mostly I play video games and draw. I do a lot of illustration livestreams on my personal channel. I also play D&D and board games with my friends most weekends.

Is there anything you want to say to the aspiring Trove artists or the community?

To aspiring artists: KEEP WORKING HARD! The best way to get good and get into the industry is to just keep at it! Working hard and putting in the time and effort will get you very far. Draw every day and NEVER give up! I cannot stress this enough.

To the community: I LOVE YOU GUYS! Seriously the Trove community is the best I have ever had the experience of being a part of!

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